BA (Hons) Popular and Commercial Music
The Popular and Commercial Music degree encourages you to develop your own voice and musical identity. Your studies will embrace popular and commercial music in its many forms and sub-genres, from electronica to folk, urban, rock and cutting edge-pop.
With an emphasis on original work, our music degree will teach you how to collaborate with your fellow students in performance, songwriting and production. We welcome diversity, collaboration and experimentation. So whatever your musical interests, you can extend your practice to gain skills relevant not only to employment in the music industry, but also to the wider creative industries.
Staff are experienced and high-profile professionals in their own right and many have worked as producers and songwriters. You’ll also learn from regular visits and masterclasses from high-level music industry professionals such as Greg Haver, producer of Manic Street Preachers; Amy Wadge, Ed Sheeran’s co-writer; Gruff Rhys, Super Furry Animals and Steve Sidelnyk, Madonna’s drummer. Studying Popular and Commercial Music in Cardiff, you will develop links with studios, record industry professionals and music companies in this thriving capital city.
What you will study
The Popular and Commercial Music degree offers a stimulating collection of modules, you’ll have to be innovative and engage with ideas that will enhance your creative vision and critical thinking.
You’ll understand form and content in popular music, songwriting, the business of music, and artist development and imagery. You’ll also gain studio and musicianship skills, know how to network and adapt your skills to the market. Through live briefs linked to music industry practices you’ll understand what it takes to be a professional musician.
Modules include:
Year One - Popular and Commercial Music degree
- Inside the Music
- Getting Plugged In
- Words and Music
- Artistic Development and Performance
- Studio Production
Year Two - Popular and Commercial Music degree
- The Creative Musician
- Sound and Vision OR Understanding Music
- Professional Performance
- Your Music: Your Business
Year Three - Popular and Commercial Music degree
- The Professional Musician A
- The Professional Musician B
- Immersed in the City
- Industry Ready
Careers
By the time you graduate from the Popular and Commercial Music degree, you will have the skills for a wide range of careers in the music, media and entertainment industries, including performance, composition, administration, promotion, multi-media production, and studio work. We have graduates working in the music industry as performers, composers, writers, promoters and administrators, teachers and musicians in the community, as well as those working in new media such as the computer games industry.
My name is Kavisha Prince Anthony, and I always had a dream of studying abroad. Thankfully, that dream came to life since I applied to the Study Advisor. I was able to receive my visa within four days. I also had some visa refusals in the past; I had about six UK visa refusals in the past, but thankfully, it was not an issue since the Study Advisor was able to make things work this time. I highly recommend Study Advisor for your dreams of going abroad, whether it be the UK or any other European country there is.